Guitar Hero Goes Mobile, Guitar Hero II for XBox 360 Launches, and a Bit About Harmonix’s “Rock Band”

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

This weekend I introduced yet another round of visiting friends to the addictive wonder that is Guitar Hero. (If only Harmonix had a rewards program like TiVo.) Turns out this is quite the week for Guitar Hero-themed announcements.

First up, Guitar Hero 2 is now available for the XBox 360. $89 gets you the game, a white guitar, and 1,800 XBox Live points ($20 value.) Source: Circuit City via Gizmodo

Then comes the announcement that Hands-On Mobile has signed a deal with Activision to create a mobile version of GH. Alice Says: Not sure that sounds even remotely viable, considering how hard it would be to play on a tiny screen, but we’ll kick the tires (if) when it does come out. Source: Kotaku

Finally, the best news of the day is piece I saw on Reuters. Electronic Arts announced that it was partnering with Viacom’s MTV and Harmonix to develop “Rock Band,” the eagerly awaited follow-up to Guitar Hero.

“‘Rock Band’ is Harmonix’s most ambitious project to date, and it will take music gameplay to an entirely new level,” said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and chief executive of Massachusetts-based Harmonix. The company developed rhythm games “Frequency” and “Amplitude” as well as the “Karaoke Revolution” series.
The “Guitar Hero” games have been Harmonix’s biggest hit to date, appealing to a broad audience of music lovers. “Rock Band” will leapfrog those titles with support from major record labels. For its part, Harmonix is expanding players’ virtual roles beyond lead guitarist to drummer, bass guitarist and lead singer.” Source: Reuters via email

Features:
–Game comes with 2 guitars, a mic and a drum set
–You can play a song with your friends scattered all over the globe
–No more cover bands
–Download new songs

We Say: Singing, Guitars, and drumming? Be still my beating heart. This may be the killer app that gets everyone on the Playstation 3, although an XBox 360 version is also being developed. View the Official Rock Band site here.